BRUCKNER Hang On To Each Other On New Record “Zusammenbleiben”

Written by Jeremy Muluka

German indie-pop sibling duo BRUCKNER return with their third album Zusammenbleiben, their first independent release since the 2017 Berg EP. I have been following the band closely since the release of their debut album in 2020 and have been anticipating this new record for a while. With a 30-minute runtime, it is their shortest album to date, but still manages to impress with some career highlights.

The project begins with “F”, a song about the magic of becoming a parent and how it changes how you see and interact with the world, which is a thread that can be found running through several of the other tracks. “Gute Dinge” serves as a reminder to have hope that good things can still happen in spite of how the world appears to be falling apart around us, and “Magnolien” explores how our outlook and actions are the only things in the world we can control. This album comes across to me as having much more of an obvious theme compared to their previous two. Perhaps the pair are more sure of themselves after leaving their record label, or maybe I just find this record to be particularly relatable.

Another notable difference in these newer songs is the warmer, more organic production compared to the singles that immediately preceded the album rollout. Even though their signature indie-pop sound is still present on tracks such as “Rosemarie” and “Beste Zeit”, there is a perceptible emphasis on the lyrics and guitars on this album that is reminiscent of some of their early music. My only gripe with this project is that it fails to demonstrate the entire spectrum of the band’s sonic capabilities due to being so short, which is a bit of a disappointment after waiting three years for a new album to only get one half as long as the last. We catch a small glimpse of an acoustic guitar ballad in “Du”, but as the only acoustic track, it might feel out of place to some listeners, and it unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to the expectations of the acoustic offerings from their previous records. That being said, it is clear that with these 10 tracks, BRUCKNER had all the time they needed to explore the theme of the album, and even though a couple of their non-album singles would have fit comfortably in the album’s sonic environment, the story is definitely complete without them.

Zusammenbleiben is available to stream now on all platforms. Be sure to follow the band on Instagram for tour updates as they play the album live around Germany this October.